MIKE TINDALL reached a crossroads last July when he announced he was retiring after a 15-year career at the very top of rugby union.

A hugely popular figure at both of his former clubs Bath and Gloucester, and as part of the 2003 England World Cup winning-squad, the former national team captain has attained legendary status beyond the sport.

So it was with some surprise that upon putting away his gum shield for the final time – apart from occasional appearances for his local Minchinhampton RFC side – Tindall decided to throw himself into the realm of reality TV, which was not the most obvious choice of career move for somebody married into the Royal family.

But the husband of Zara Phillips, the Queen’s granddaughter, has got stuck into the reality sphere like it was a scrum against the All Blacks. Not once but twice the 36-year-old has put himself through the mill for our entertainment – firstly with The Jump, a Davina McCall-hosted winter sports competition and then with Bear Grylls: Mission Survival, an intense endurance journey in the rainforests of Costa Rica.

Going from spending time with Johnny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson to Jamelia and Amy Childs seems like a culture shock, but Tindall took it in his considerable stride.

The opportunities, Tindall says, ‘just fell into my lap at the perfect time’ post-retirement last summer and was a useful way of whiling away the hours he would normally spend on the rugby pitch.

“The Bear Grylls thing was around the time of the start of the season and it was a way of taking my mind off anything else and refocus and just get out there,” said Tindall.

“With The Jump, when it was on last year, I said I’d love to do that just for the skiing side of it and when they asked me. It was a bit of a no-brainer.

“I wanted to do it and it fell into my lap at the perfect time.”

But there was more to it than just giving him purpose – besides, he and Zara have a young daughter (Mia) to look after.

Tindall is patron of Rugby for Heroes and through his annual celebrity golf classic day has raised more than £100,000 to help former army officers to get back to normal civilian life.

Find out more at www.rugbyforheroes.org.uk